May 13, 2013

"Mother's Day" Monday Reflections

In my ongoing efforts to be (a) more disciplined, and (b) more creative, I'm working on a new blogging schedule. For a long time I've been just going once a week, but starting this week I'm shooting for two. I think the Monday post will be probably a bullet point download of everything I can think of from the previous weekend, and then later in the week I'll try to write on something more substantive.

So, enough chitchat...let's get to the point.

Rita spent Friday and Saturday with my mom, my sister and my sister-in-law out on the Cape for what has become their annual "ladies weekend" away. I think she got some refreshing time away from the kids, and I did my best to keep up with everything she usually does. What did I realize? I wouldn't be a good single dad, and I still hate laundry.

Mother's Day weekend was tougher for me than I thought it would have been. Every card I wrote made me tear up thinking about my dad, even though they were for the moms in my life. I finally understood how difficult these days can be for those who DON'T have the one they love around any longer. It's yet another reminder that the more I age and experience different stages of life, the more God uses those moments to soften my heart as a pastor.

Yesterday was a great day at New Life on lots of accounts, but one of my favorites was listening to Jason bring the message. He's grown so much in both his content and his confidence as a speaker, and I thoroughly enjoyed his message on why we do groups at New Life.

Speaking of which - we do groups at New Life so that we can each have the opportunity to grow deeper in relationship to God and in community with each other. But maybe the best question Jason asked yesterday was, "Why don't you?" Food for thought when we come around to the fall and open up new groups again.

While we've gone away from doing much in the way of morning announcements on Sunday, we are trying to make sure that we keep everyone in the loop of what's happening. Our newest way to do that is through text message updates. If you're interested in getting those about once a week, text "nla" followed by your name to 59769 and you'll be signed up to receive those.

Block Party is coming soon (June 22)!!! We got our postcards to hand out and send out this past week, so be sure to pick some of those up to use for inviting your friends to the party this year.

We've got another 21st Century addition to what we're doing at New Life that we're going to unveil this Sunday. I won't tell you what it is, but it definitely has the potential to make your life easier.

Last but not least, I received a few positive comments about what I shared regarding Mother's Day at the end of service. I should point out that my thinking was shaped in part by this post on another blog. What follows is the text I wrote and read from yesterday:

Mother’s day probably captures the full spectrum of human
emotions:

Joy to sadness,Hope to despair,Laughter to anger,Peace to fear,Security to doubt,Trust to worry,And everything in between.

That’s the case because no one here has walked exactly the same road to this point.

Some of us today are celebrating because we’re with our
moms, or because our kids are sitting next to us, happy, healthy, and in right
relationship.Some of us today are grieving the loss of our own mothers,
either through death or a separation that’s not of our own making.

Maybe someone here just found out they’re pregnant for the
first time, and there’s a tremendous amount of hope springing up in your heart.Maybe others of us despair because we’ve prayed for God to
give us a child, and he still hasn’t answered.

Some of us are going to laugh with our moms later when we
remember the great times we’ve shared together.And others of us might silently seethe with anger that our
mom never quite lived up to the promise of that name.

Some of us are caring for children that are not our children
by birth, but are children by choice and by heart and find peace and
contentment.Others of us are afraid that those children we’ve birthed
are making choices that are leading them down a darker, more dangerous path.

Some of us have tremendous security in being a daughter, a
friend, a mentor and a child of God and don’t weep to not be a wife or mother.Others of us are doubting our own worth because we haven’t
filled the role that we thought we would have by now.

And in all of these emotions, all of these moments, we find
God present with us in unique ways.
And all of you ladies may, at different times, feel any one of these
emotions, or any number of them at the same time. But in all of them we, your church community, want to honor
you – mothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, spiritual
mothers, daughters, sisters – as gifts to us from God.